No Cannon Shall Sink This Ship
by TheLastSaskDragonRider
Summary: Collection of alternate episodes, alternate endings, and headcanons, because no can(n)on shall sink this ship!
1. Defenders of the Wing, Part II, AE

No Cannon Shall Sink This Ship

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Collection of headcannons, alternate endings and other things... Ummm... yeah. I really had a couple of ideas for alternate endings, such as No Dragon Left Behind alternate ending (bc I was really hoping for musical part II when I was watching it), Family on the Edge alternate episode, and Time To Skrill Alternate Ending, also I have other plot holes, such as Hiccup's braids, and random headcannons that I'm writing.

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Summary: As Mala says that she's going to kill Hiccup and the dragon riders, Hiccup falls into the volcano and everything goes downhill from there.

A/N: I wrote this one while I was waiting for season four, but I still like it enough to post it. Even though the real episode has been released, no can(n)on shall sink this ship! I hope you enjoy!

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Defenders of the Wing, Part 2, Alternate episode

"Your people are going to die for what you've done, but first, Hiccup, I'm going to kill you myself."

Hiccup pressed his back against Astrid's, his heart beating hard in his chest. "Wait," he said quickly. "Yes, this is my fault-"

"Hiccup, it's not your fault, it's Viggo's-" Astrid tried to say, but Hiccup held up a hand to stop her.

"-But it's not my friends' fault. They are good people. They follow me just as your people follow you," Hiccup said, taking a tentative step forward, ignoring the extra spears pointing straight at his heart. "You can't punish them for doing something that I asked them to do."

"Hiccup, don't!"

"Enough!" Mala commanded, grabbing Hiccup by his shoulder and shoving him to his knees. "You have done your last evil, Hiccup."

The volcano rumbled and lava exploded from the heart of the volcano, showering down around them. "Mala, look out!" Hiccup yelled, pushing Mala out of the way and let out a scream as the lava landed on him. He took a step back in surprise and shock only to find his foot meeting thin air. For a moment, he met Astrid's eyes and she could plainly see the pain and terror written in Hiccup's gaze before he fell into the roaring lava.

"No, Hiccup!"

There was a terrified yell from Hiccup and a large shadow zoomed past everyone as Toothless shot into the volcano after his best friend. Astrid threw off the soldier beside her and rushed towards the edge, not caring who got in her way, just fighting to get to Hiccup. The hot rock burnt her hands as she looked over the edge into the heart of the volcano. She looked just in time to see the insignia of the Night Fury sink into the fires of the volcano.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!"

Hiccup Haddock III - son of Stoick the Vast, the pride and heir of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Berk, the Dragon Conqueror, the Rider of the Night Fury - was gone.

Hiccup had fallen plenty of times. Countless of times: falling off of Toothless when they were first learning how to fly together, the terrifying plummet when the Red Death's tail hit him, tripping plenty of times when he lost his foot after the battle with the Red Death, crashing when he started to design Dragon Fly and failing plenty of times in the war against the Dragon Hunters.

But every time that he fell, he knew that he could trust Toothless to come and catch him as he fell.

This time, there was only air between him and the fire. No Toothless, no Dragon Fly, nothing.

Hitting the ground was an unpleasant surprise. All the air was driven out of his lungs and Hiccup thought that he couldn't find it in him to scream, but a loud scream ripped out from his throat as the pain from the lava burns registered. The leather of his armour was on fire, slowly burning into his skin. With a desperate yelp, Hiccup yanked off all of his amor and threw it as far as possible from him, still swatting at the fire remaining on his tunic. He wasn't sure if it was the heat or the pain that caused tears to roll down his cheeks as he watched the rest of his armour sink into the lava.

Darkness was crowding at the edges of his vision as he heard the telltale roar of the Night Fury. A second later, Toothless landed beside him, nosing him worriedly, but Toothless's actions just caused pain to erupt all over his body and the world turned dark.

Astrid opened her eyes to darkness, finding her and the other riders back in the same prison they were in earlier that day. Everything came back to her in little snippets: going up to the volcano, Mala accusing them of treason (again), and getting knocked unconscious with the darts again. Groaning, she sat up, looking around in the shadows, mentally checking off the riders.

 _Heather. Snotlout. Fishlegs. Ruff. Tuff..._

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled out desperately. "Hiccup!"

Her shouting roused the other riders, but still didn't bring the one person that mattered to her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and for a moment, she thought that it could've been Hiccup's hand, but instead of HIccup's warm hand, calloused from many years working in the forge, it was Heather's slender hand that gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Astrid," Heather said, her voice void of her usual hard edge, "I'm so sorry."

"I never told him," Astrid whispered, her eyes searching the stars, wishing that she could see the familiar silhouette of the Night Fury somewhere up there.

"Told him what?"

"How much he meant to me. How much I... how much I thought he was more than just a hiccup. I didn't tell him how much I trusted him I didn't tell him... how much I love him."

"You said 'love' present tense not 'loved' past tense," Heather said, her green eyes searching through Astrid's blue ones.

Looking away, Astrid sank down to the ground. "'I can't imagine a world without you,'" she whispered. "That's what Hiccup said to me. I never thought that I would have to live in a world without him. There was never a scenario that he wouldn't be able to get out of. Even if his first stupid plan didn't work, he always had a next crazy plan. Every time he was in a life-or-death situation, I could do something to save him. I could threaten every Outcast, Berserker or Dragon Hunter, I could search through every island in the Archipelago, I could do SOMETHING to save him, but this time... he's just gone."

The riders fell into silence, Astrid's words echoing through the prison. Nobody said anything until a shadow fell across the prison and in unison, they looked up to find Mala looking down at them.

"What do you want?" Astrid snarled, her hands fisted by her sides.

For a moment, she didn't say anything as she threw a couple rations of food down to them. "We have contacted Viggo and we are trading you for the Great Protector tomorrow at first light."

"Do you think that it's going to be that easy?" Fishlegs asked from beside Astrid. "If Viggo was able to trick Hiccup on more than one occasion, this is going to be no simple hostage exchange. There's no way that Viggo and the Dragon Hunters are just going to hand over the Eruptodon."

"Silence! This is the only way I am going to save my people. you WILL co-operate!"

Mala turned to leave, but before she could, Heather called out, "Wait, Queen Mala."

"I thought I bid you silence."

Heather took a step forward. "Hiccup was our leader. He saved your life. Please allow us to send him to Valhalla in the ceremony that he deserves."

Mala surveyed them with her cold glare, her expression unreadable.

"Please," Heather said again, "If you let us do this one thing, we will not protest any more. We just want this one thing. Let us honour Hiccup once more."

At long length, Mala said, "What do you need?"

Hiccup woke up to a cool breeze against his cheeks.

That and the sticky spit of one Night Fury.

Cracking open his eyes, he smiled as Toothless warbled happily at the sight of Hiccup's eyes. "Hey, bud," Hiccup said weakly. "How long was I out?"

Toothless bounded over to the edge of the trees where they were hidden and pointed down the hill with his nose, making excited noises. Shakily, Hiccup stood up and joined Toothless over looking the beach below them where he could see Mala leading the other six Dragon Riders towards a boat.

"Come on, bud. Let's go save them."

A little while later, the six dragon riders stood on the shore, holding arrows as a boat drifted out to sea.

"The greatest dragons and gods cry for the boy who has fallen today. We ask for the safe passage of your newest einherjar, that he may fly into Valhalla and live for eternity in peace that he has brought to his people. May he hear the songs that we sing, the songs of him, our great Chief."

Astrid pulled back the string of her bow and let the arrow fly through the sky. Beside her, the rest of the riders lifted their own bows and shot a flaming arrow to the boat as well. The sparks from the fire floated up to the sky as if they could join the stars too. Through the smoke and fire, she thought she saw a Night Fury carrying a rider out into the wind.

It was still dark as Mala's ship, carrying her tribe, the Dragon Riders and herself, sailed into the sea for the rendezvous with Viggo. The two proud ships met in the waters, their leaders waiting for the other.

"Return the Defender of the Wing," Mala commanded. "We have your people."

"They are far from my people," Viggo said, "and I have to extend my deepest gratitude for taking care of one Hiccup Haddock."

Mala gave no reaction, only extending her hand again. "Give us back the Defender of the Wing."

Viggo curled his lip. "No."

She snarled back at him, "Give us back our dragon, You foul monster!

The dragon riders saw before anyone else did. Up in the masts, a Dragon Hunter raised a crossbow. On the deck, Viggo raised his hand and immediately, Astrid leapt forward.

"No! Astrid, don't!" Fishlegs yelled, but she was already leaping forward.

She knocked Mala onto the deck of the Dragon Hunters, the arrows flying over their heads and immediately, there were axes at their throats. Astrid looked up to find Viggo there, his sword pointing straight at her.

"Surrender."

They had no choice, but to raise their hands.

The Defenders of the Wing and the dragon riders were tied up on the deck, while Astrid and Mala were on the upper deck, a little way away from Viggo who was talking to one of the other dragon hunters.

"Why did you try to save me?" Mala asked, quietly as not to allow the dragon hunters to hear them speaking.

"I didn't want to, trust me," Astrid growled. "I would've let you rot in Viggo's hands."

"But yet, you saved me."

Astrid looked away, hating the tears that were welling in her eyes. "You never knew Hiccup, but Hiccup is the kind of leader that would do anything for his family, friends... and allies. Hiccup would've saved you. So I did too."

Mala studied her for a second, before slowly speaking, "That's..."

"Noble of me? Kind of me?"

"No, that's very... Hiccup of you," Mala said, her voice soft. "He must have loved you very much."

Lifting her eyes up to the horizon, Astrid sighed, catching the sight of the last star in the sky fade away as she whispered, "Yeah. I did too."

The sun's first rays bled over the horizon, just as the Night Fury whistled through the air, carrying his best friend into battle and everyone heard the loud cry of, "Viggo! This ends now!"

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled in happiness. Hiccup's upper arm was wrapped in bandages, the ends of his hair (most noticeably his braids) were singed, and he wasn't wearing his armour, but despite all of that, Hiccup never looked better to Astrid. Behind him, the other riders' dragons followed him.

"Hookfang! Meatlug! Get the riders! Stormfly and Windshear, get Mala's tribe! Barf and Belch, light up the catapults!" Hiccup yelled to the dragons and immediately all of the dragons burst into action. "Toothless, let's go get Mala and Astrid."

The two landed on the ship, directly across from Viggo, Mala and Astrid.

"Hiccup Haddock the Third."

Toothless growled, but backed down as Hiccup gently patted his nose, turning around and bounding to somewhere else on the ship, followed by Stormfly. Turning his attention back to Viggo, Hiccup held up Inferno again, holding the flaming sword between him and Viggo. "Viggo. Let go of Astrid and Mala"

"Before I even consider that, let's talk about the treaty," Viggo said, his voice light.

"You know what Viggo, I have thought about the treaty," Hiccup said, setting down Inferno.

"Good. Good. Then are we going to sign?" Viggo asked, holding up the map.

Hiccup smirked. "There is one thing that makes us different, Viggo. To you, everyone can be expendable, but to me, all of the dragons on this side of the line matters. I will not sacrifice the lives of the dragons on this side of the line for the peace for the people and dragons on this side of the line. I will not sign this treaty."

In one move, Hiccup sliced the map in two with Inferno, sending it up into flame. Viggo stared at burning pieces of paper and Hiccup felt a bit smug that he managed to stun Viggo for a bit.

"Hiccup. You know this means war."

"I do."

"I thought you were smarter than this."

"Oh, I am. I am smart enough to realize that the lives of my riders are worth so much more than whatever you are offering," Hiccup said, stepping away from Viggo. "Oh, and by the way. If you _ever_ touch _my_ Astrid ever again, I will kill you."

Before Viggo had a chance to reply, Hiccup retracted Inferno's blade and Zippleback gas billowed out from the other end. The gas exploded into flames, knocking Viggo off his feet. Hiccup rushed towards Mala and Astrid, cutting through their bonds with a quick slice with Inferno.

"Hiccup!" Astrid leapt into his arms as soon as he freed her. "You're alive!"

"Not now, Astrid, I'll tell you everything later," Hiccup promised. "For now, Stormfly!"

Stormfly swooped out of the sky, squawking happily at the sight of her friend. "Stormfly! Let's go!"

Hiccup turned to Mala and said, "Come on, Mala, let's go."

"I can not fly on your dragon, it's against the law," Mala said quietly.

"It's not on my dragon," Hiccup said, turning around, "It's on yours."

The deck of the ship exploded and a dark shadow zipped out of the explosion, followed by a large Boulder Class dragon.

Astrid gasped in amazement. "That's..."

"Defender of the Wing. The dragon that protects Mala's tribe," Hiccup said as he helped Mala onto the dragon before jumping onto Toothless. "Now, let's go."

The three dragons took off into the sky. "Dragon riders, retreat!" Hiccup called. "Back to the island!"

"Maybe I judged you wrong, Hiccup Haddock," Mala said as the dragon riders got ready to leave her village. "Your dragons did tell the truth in the trial. I apologize for not trusting you and the dragons."

"I would've not trusted me either," Hiccup said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just glad that everything worked out okay in the end."

Mala nodded and finally gave Hiccup and the riders a smile. "Good luck on your travels, Dragon Riders. If you need our help, we will come and fight for you."

"Thank you," Hiccup said with a smile in reply.

"No, thank you, Hiccup, you saved my life, my village, my dragon. Thank you," Mala said. She gave Hiccup and the riders a deep bow and the rest of her tribe followed her suit.

Hiccup smiled and looked around at the other riders. "Come on, let's get back to the Edge."

The sight of the Edge was a welcome sight. All of the Dragon Riders celebrated that night. Hiccup was so distracted by the celebrations that he didn't notice that Astrid had slipped away.

"Come on, Bud, let's go find her," he whispered to Toothless as he managed to slip out of the party as well. It didn't take long for them to find her, standing on the beach, looking up at the sky. Hiccup gestured for Toothless to stay back as he approached Astrid as quietly as he could with his uneven legs.

"I can hear you coming, Hiccup," Astrid said with a sigh. "You don't have to pretend that you're actually sneaking up on me."

Hiccup laughed and came to stand beside Astrid. "I guess I should know better than to sneak up on you too."

Astrid smiled, but the smile faded off her face a moment later as he gaze returned to the ocean in front of her.

"Astrid, what's the matter?" Hiccup asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him. It surprised him to see her blue eye filled with tears. "Astrid..."

"I thought you were dead."

Astrid's voice was so soft it took a moment for Hiccup to understand what Astrid said. "Oh, Astrid... it's okay. I'm still here."

Suddenly Astrid surprised Hiccup by throwing her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him off balance. "You were dead!" Astrid said, her voice raising into a sob. "I thought you were dead! I thought that I would never be able to tell you all of the things that I've wanted to. I thought that I wouldn't be able to tell you how much I love you. I thought that I wouldn't be able to because I thought you were dead!"

"It's okay, I'm not. I'm here and I'm never going to leave you behind again," Hiccup promised. "I'm right here." Hiccup gently lead Astrid over to a fallen log and helped her sit down, kneeling down in front of her. "Astrid. You know how much I hate these braids, right?"

Astrid raised her hand to tangle in his hair, stroking the singed ends. "What happened?"

"The lava burnt off my braids," Hiccup explained. "I was running back to the Edge when I realized they were gone. Even though I hated them, I needed them back, because wearing them was carrying a part of you. Astrid, I'll fight Thor before we're separated again."

Astrid laughed shakily and leaned back far enough to look Hiccup in the eyes. "Really?"

Hiccup smiled back, holding up his finger, and Astrid raise her finger to mirror his. "Promise."

Tears were still running down Astrid's cheeks, but she smiled, leaning her head against Hiccup's chest. "Thanks, Hiccup."

"For what?"

"For everything else."

Hiccup laughed, wrapping his arms around Astrid tightly. "Anything for you, milady."

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I hope you liked this! I'll be writing a lot more. If you have any other headcannons or alternate endings/episodes you want me to write, please feel to request! They might come slowly bc midterms are coming up stupidly fast, but I really enjoy writing and like to keep a balance in life. Also, I'll update J'Imagine soon, like Thanksgiving break, latest Halloween I promise.


	2. Shell Shock

_Shell Shock_

Summary: Hiccup is just 19 and he already has seen so many things, chased by so many demons. He's just 19. But he has his friends.

Warning: This one shot deals with Depression and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

A/N: Thanks for all of your sweet reviews on the last chapter! I really appreciate it! (And Antox, Hi! I'm working on your request! It'll be up next!)

Sorry if this one shot is very stutter-y, really all of these were supposed to be separate one-shots, but I couldn't get enough to sustain a plot for each one, so I strung them together to make something coherent, but I really like the results and I hope you guys will like it too.

Okay, enjoy! Please comment, favourite, follow, and feel free to request a one shot!

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Shell Shock

Astrid rushed through Dragon's Edge, calling for Hiccup. This had been one of the worst battles they had had. The Dragon Hunters attacked during the night and before anything, Hiccup and Toothless were shot down. Hiccup wasn't hurt, but Toothless' wing was torn with an arrow rendering him unable to fly. Hiccup did his best to fight and direct the counter attacks, but dragon-less, Hiccup couldn't do much.

She hadn't seen him for a couple of hours and since the end of the battle, she had been helping Stoick organize the rest of Berk's fleet as the Dragon Hunters retreated.

"Hiccup!" she called out, running up and down the gangplanks. "Hiccup! Hiccup! Where are you?"

She turned the corner to the clubhouse and gasped what she saw. Toothless was hidden away in the corner where they had left him. His wing was bandaged up in a slight haphazard way. At the moment, Toothless wasn't the one holding her concern.

Hiccup was crumpled on the floor next to his dragon. Astrid could see that his hands were stained with blood – probably Toothless' as there were used bandages littered around the floor – and there was a short dagger lying beside him.

"Hiccup!" Astrid rushed to his side.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and suddenly he shrieked and started moving away. He kept on scrambling away until his back hit the wall. Astrid blinked in surprise and reached out towards Hiccup. "Hiccup?"

Suddenly Hiccup's head jerked up and his hand flashed out. Astrid jumped back in surprise as she saw the knife gripped tightly in his hand. "Whoa, Hiccup, stop," she said calmly.

Even her calm words, Hiccup's eyes didn't seem to see her as he lashed out with his knife again. Astrid jumped back and studied him out of reach from his knife. He was shaking slightly and his eyes were not looking at Astrid, instead staring at some kind of unknown demon in front of him.

"Hiccup? What happened?" she asked.

Hiccup whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. "Korgan was here." His voice barely above a whisper. "They tried to take my best bud, they tried to take Toothless."

"They're gone," Astrid reassured, moving forward slightly.

Again, Hiccup made a whimpering sound in response. Astrid made a hushing sound and gently covered his hand with hers. "It's okay, the battle's over. You can let go of this now. We're safe."

"But what if they return?" Hiccup's voice was small as if he was a child, scared of the dragons attacking the village.

"They won't. We showed them that the Dragon Riders are a force not to be messed with," Astrid said, putting her hand gently on his shoulder.

Hiccup's hand was shaking. "I need to protect you and the other riders. They hurt Toothless... I can't have them hurt you," he said, raising the knife slightly again.

"They won't," Astrid promised, gently removing the knife from his hand. For only a moment his grip tightened, but he let the knife go. "I will protect you."

Hiccup's laugh was slightly hysterical, but he leaned into Astrid, holding her tightly. "You... you'll stay and protect me?"

Astrid smiled and hugged him tightly. "I'll protect you."

-x-x-

It was a usual recon flight, just Hiccup and Snotlout with Toothless and Hookfang.

"It looks quite easy," Snotlout said, looking over a convoy of Dragon Hunter ships. "Half dozen ships, not many dragon proof catapults. In and out, no problem, what do you think, Hiccup?"

He looked over at Hiccup and frowned as he saw Hiccup hunched over Toothless' head, shaking hard.

"Hiccup? Are you okay?"

Hiccup jerked and looked over at Snotlout, his eyes glazed with panic. "I-I-I think that we should just keep on trailing it for another day," he said quickly, his voice shaking with uncertainty.

"Okay, fine," Snotlout said with a shrug, pretending not to notice that Hiccup's grip on Toothless' saddle was vice-like and that Hiccup's face was paler than it had ever been.

 _He didn't care because Jorgensons don't have... whatever Hiccstrid called it... feelings? Of course not. Jorgensons and feelings. Nope. Nope. Nope._

 _... right?_

They tailed the convoy for another before it was nighttime and they set down for the night. Hiccup relaxed against Toothless' side, curling up under the blankets.

But sleep brought nightmares.

 _He was flying on Toothless through the sky at stomach turning heights, but Hiccup didn't care about the height as they flew towards his hut._

 _"Do it, bud. Now!"_

Hiccup woke up with a scream, choking on his own breath.

"Oh my THOR! Would you shut up?" Snotlout yelled, glaring at Hiccup.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said softly, looking down at the ground. "Really sorry."

Snotlout snorted and turned over, settling back down. Hiccup tried to do the same. He wrapped himself under his thin blanket unable to stop himself from shivering.

A little sob escaped him as he remembered the nightmare, the vivid screams, the smell of smoke, the pain, the feeling of helplessness, the—

Suddenly a second blanket settled over his shoulders, cutting off his thoughts. Looking up in surprise, he saw Snotlout settling down against Hookfang once again, but without his blanket.

"Snotlout—"

"Shut it, I'm trying to sleep." Snotlout leaned back against Hookfang's flank and tipped his helmet down over his face.

Hiccup smiled shakily and settled down under the blankets.

The cold didn't seem to bad now.

-x-x-

Panic attacks happened at the worst times. Everything shattered and drowned him in misery for hours, if not for the rest of the day.

Hiccup gasped for air, his whole body was shaking. He tried to find a grip on reality, gripping at his hair and tugging at the roots.

"Hiccup! You—"

Hiccup wasn't sure if he could hear a voice, but the feet running across the floor towards him. Hands were pushing him to lay down on his side and gently pulling his hands out from his hair.

"Just breathe, Hiccup, breathe. In, out."

Opening his eyes was a struggle. When he did, Ruffnut's face swarmed into focus. She was brushing his hair back with one hand and rubbing his back gently with the other.

"It's okay, Hiccup, just breathe."

Hiccup shook his head, trying to tell her that he couldn't.

"Just breathe, Hiccup, just breathe. I'll go get Astrid."

Suddenly, the idea of being alone became a swirling vortex of despair. Before Ruffnut could leave, Hiccup gripped the edge of her tunic.

"Huh? Are you okay?"

Hiccup was shivering as he gripped onto the only thing grounding him to reality: Ruffnut's tunic. He only let go of her tunic when she put her hand on his cheek. He curled up on himself, but Ruffnut stopped him, pushing his head back to keep eye contact. Later when Hiccup calmed down, he would realize that Ruffnut was looking panicked, but she managed to keep a calm face on for that moment.

"Okay, Hiccup, just... ummmm... tell me about your new project. What about the Dragon Sword? Need more Monstrous Nightmare gel? I can get it in bulk from Snotlout."

Hiccup tried to smile, but it was cut off with a small sob. "N-n-no. It's ok-okay."

"How about Zippleback gas?"

"I-i-infern-no d-d-doesn't-t-t use Zippleba-ba-back gas."

"Not yet, but imagine if it did. One end has a blade that lights on fire on command, then the other end lets out Zippleback gas and then BOOM! Everything explodes. You know Tuffnut and I are experts in pyrotechnics if you need some consulting."

This time, Hiccup laughed, relaxing his tense muscles. "It's okay, Ruff, I'm okay. What did you need?"

"Never mind about that, I'm sure that Tuffnut and I can find something to blow up while you get working on that Out-ferno. Maybe Astrid could help you. Should I go get her?"

Sitting up, Hiccup took a deep breath, finally calming his racing heart. "No, that's okay, I think I can work by myself for now."

Ruffnut nodded, though there was a little hesitation in her eyes. "Sure. Tuff and I will be playing in our boar pit if you need some in house pyrotechnic experts."

Hiccup smiled and watched as she left his hut. As he stood beside his desk, he looked back to the patch of sky beyond his door.

Suddenly, the sound of the boar pit with the twins sounded like a good idea.

-x-x-

Fishlegs came into the clubhouse and was surprised to find Hiccup already there.

"Hey Hiccup."

Hiccup jumped a foot into the air and he whipped around so fast that he knocked down the stack of sheets that he was looking at.

Fishlegs raised his hands to show that he wasn't trying to threaten him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I don't know, I just... got up," Hiccup said as he quickly brushed the papers back into a stack.

"Well, if you're up, want to come to my garden? I want your opinion on some of the arrangements," Fishlegs said, picking up some breakfast that Hiccup must have made since he was the only one up at the moment.

Hiccup froze for a moment, his hands stilling on his project. "Ummmm... maybe later, Fishlegs. I'm... I'm kind of bu-usy..."

"Okay, what are you doing later in the day?" Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup mumbled something, turning to leave. Fishlegs made a small motion towards him, but Hiccup jumped and his legs gave out from underneath him.

"Hiccup!"

Fishlegs dropped to his knees beside Hiccup lying on the floor. Hiccup's eyes were wide and glazed, unseeing what's in front of him.

"Hiccup! Are you okay?"

At Fishlegs' voice, Hiccup jerked and came back to the present. Hiccup nodded, pushing himself up to his feet and not looking at Fishlegs.

"When was the last time you got some sleep?" Fishlegs asked, standing up with him.

"I'm okay," Hiccup said, his hands gripping his upper arms. "I'm okay..."

Fishlegs looked at him concerned as Hiccup tried to shield away. "Hiccup..."

Fishleg's soft tone triggered something in Hiccup. His hands tore at his upper arms until his fingers tore holes into his tunic and his finger nails scratched long his upper arms. Hot tears dripped down his cheeks. "I-I-I can't sleep," he admitted. "I-I-I can't go back to my hut. I don't know... I j-j-just want to sleep, but I can't. I'm so tired... so, so tired..."

Fishlegs took Hiccup's hands, gently prying away his vice like grip from his arms. Carefully as if Hiccup was a scared dragon, Fishlegs held his hands in one of his as he massaged Hiccup's tense shoulder. Hiccup's grip was tight at first, but as Fishlegs massaged his shoulders, his grip loosened.

Unfortunately, the massage worked a bit too well and Hiccup's whole body relaxed, collapsing against Fishlegs.

"Whoa, let's get you into a bed before this happens," Fishlegs said, holding up Hiccup.

Hiccup mumbled, but didn't make an attempt to get up. Fishlegs smiled and lifted him up, bringing him to his hut. "I can make some lavender tea for you," Fishlegs said as he laid Hiccup on his bed.

Hiccup mumbled and shook his head. "Wa... wait... I ne-ne-need to... ch-check... defenses... patrol... Edge..."

Hiccup struggled to sit up, but as soon as Fishlegs placed Hiccup's forehead, Hiccup calmed down and settled down on the bed. "Don't worry, Meatlug and I will take care of it. Just sleep for a little while."

Hiccup mumbled a couple of syllables incoherently, but closed his eyes, his breath steadying out. Fishlegs smiled and tucked the blanket around Hiccup's shoulders before turning to leave the hut.

"Fishlegs?" Hiccup spoke up before Fishlegs left the hut. "Thanks."

"Any time, Hiccup."

He hurried out of the hut towards his garden to make Hiccup some tea.

-x-x-

"Roar!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Maybe in retrospect, trying to sneak up on Hiccup wasn't the smartest prank now that Tuffnut found himself on his back and Inferno swinging down towards his skull. "Wait! Hiccup!"

Hiccup stopped Inferno, just a centimeter from Tuffnut's head. He blinked a couple of times as if to re-orientate himself before he suddenly jerked back and scrambled off of Tuffnut. "I'm so sorry, Tuff, sorry, sorry, sorry..."

Before Tuffnut could say anything, Hiccup was already running off, but before he got far, his shaking leg tripped over his prosthetic and he went sprawling over the platform.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Tuffnut asked as he rushed over to Hiccup who was slowly collecting himself.

As Tuffnut placed a hand on his shoulder, Hiccup jerked back and yelled, "I'm fine, Tuffnut!"

Tuffnut frowned and shoved him into the nearest hut, which was the twins', slamming the door shut behind them.

"What are you doing?" asked Hiccup, looking anywhere but Tuffnut. "Please let me leave."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," Tuffnut said, crossing his arms.

"Tuffnut," Hiccup said warningly.

"No."

"As your future chief, I command you to let me leave," Hiccup spat.

"No," Tuffnut repeated.

"Get out of my way!"

Hiccup drew out Inferno again, swiping at Tuffnut. Tuffnut quickly jumped out the way, grabbing the closest thing to defend himself with, which happened to be one of Ruffnut's spears. He didn't attack, just blocked the swipes that came a bit too close for comfort. Hiccup was usually a great sword fighter, but his emotions were making his swipes clumsy and uncoordinated.

"You know, Hiccup, I always like how you never command anyone," Tuffnut said, jumping out of the way again. "You ask us to do things, you're not our chief, you're our friend."

Hiccup wavered, his swing just swiping through the air as if he was fighting a ghost in front of him, but that moment passed and he swung again. Tuffnut managed to grab both of Hiccup's wrists, holding him still as he struggled.

"Hiccup, what's wrong with you?" Tuffnut asked again, pushing Hiccup back to a safe distance.

His grip around the hilt tightened and he took a step back. "I... I don't know. I just... I can't. I always have nightmares, I have flashbacks all the time, I can't stop feeling like someone is going to attack us at any moment... I don't... I... I can't figure out what to do."

"It'll be fine, Hiccup," Tuffnut said soothingly. "Hiccups always have a plan."

Hiccup's sword dropped and he looked away. "I-I-I... but... but I don't. This time, I don't have a plan. What do I do?"

Tuffnut jumped forward and hugged Hiccup tightly. "My man, you'll be okay."

Hiccup only wordlessly held onto Tuffnut, unable to say what he was thinking: _No, it won't be okay._

-x-x-

The rest of the Dragon Riders were sitting in the clubhouse, chatting to each other as Hiccup shuffled into the room, his eyes downcast, his whole body screaming to run away, but Toothless behind him kept him moving forward.

"Hey, gang, can I talk to... can I talk to you about something?" Hiccup asked, rubbing a hand against Toothless' head as he tried to force himself to look at the others, but failed to.

"Yeah, whatever you need to talk about," Tuffnut said.

"Is everything okay?" Astrid asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Hiccup gave her a weak smile and took Astrid's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Guys... I think... I'm... Something's wrong with me," Hiccup mumbled, looking down at the floor. "I.. I can barely... think... I can't sleep, and I don't... I just can't anymore.

"I feel lost and... I know it's un-Viking-like to do this... but I really need..." He took a deep breath, and looked up to each of them, his green eyes filled with tears. "Guys, I need help."

Astrid smiled sympathetically and took his other hand hand. "It's okay to ask for help," she said. "You don't need to be ashamed that you're asking for help."

"Yeah, it's okay," Ruffnut added. "Most nineteen year olds haven't killed dragons the size of mountains—"

"Or been chased by treacherous villains—" added Tuffnut.

"Or had revenge sworn on by deranged chiefs—"

"Or have psychopathic Maces and Talons partners."

"Yeah, most of the time you have to wait until you're forty or so until you have a list like that," Ruffnut said.

Astrid shook her head fondly, and turned back to Hiccup. "I think if I can translate for the twins, they're saying, 'you're only 19, you shouldn't have to have this kind of weight on your shoulders.'"

"But... you guys are also 19 and you aren't breaking under the pressure like I am," Hiccup mumbled.

"Just because we aren't, doesn't make your pain any less valid."

"But..."

"No but's, we're going back to Berk," Fishlegs said firmly. "You need to spend some time back at home, with your dad and Gobber. I think we all need some time back at home."

Hiccup looked shyly at the rest of the gang and started smiling as he found the rest of them agreeing, speaking as they all missed their family on Berk.

"I guess that's what's happening," Hiccup said. "I'm really sorry that I'm cutting our adventures short—"

"Cutting short our adventure? Ha, as if," Snotlout said with a shrug. "Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go, Hiccup, so as long as we stick together as the Dragon Riders, we're going to see some more adventures before we know it."

Hiccup smiled. "To the great unknown?"

"To the great unknown!" the rest of the Riders chorused back.


End file.
